Digital imaging, along with audio and video editing, requires more computing power and file storage space than most other tasks carried out on a computer because of the sheer amount of information involved. As digital camera sensor counts continue their seemingly relentless rise, so does the corresponding level of storage space needed, and the processing capabilities required, if tasks are to be carried out within a reasonable timescale. The purchase of a computer with the best specifications available at the time is always advisable when buying a new machine, the fastest processor, the largest hard drive, the biggest amount of Ram, but whatever the specifications, there will usually come a time when they cease to be good enough in some respect, and the decision has to be taken as to whether to buy a new computer, or try and upgrade the current one.

Some years ago buying a new computer made good sense as the standards used were increasing at a very fast pace, as did those of digital cameras. Although in some respects standards are still increasing, it is also true that development has slowed considerably, most effort now being spent on offering more flexibility and lower power consumption as much as increasing performance, and it is now generally the case that computer standards of the last few years can cope with almost anything required of them, and certainly with respect to digital imaging needs. As a result buying a completely new computer is no longer always needed, and upgrading an existing one is just as good whilst often making better economic sense.

When we refer to upgrading a computer we are not talking about just adding external devices that are attached via a port of some description, USB, Firewire etc, and can be connected and removed as required. Whilst the use of such items is of huge benefit these days, particularly the large capacity portable hard drives on which files can be stored and backed up, they do not in themselves count as an upgrade since they are independent of a computer, and can be moved from machine to machine at will. This is of course the benefit since it provides flexibility and a measure of added security. If stored files can't be read via one machine because of problems that arise with it, then they can using another.

Computer Upgrade types

There are distinctly different types of computer upgrade. One concerns the hardware, the physical parts from which the computer is assembled. The other the software, the applications that are used to either enable the computer to run and be used, the operating system, or those to carry out a specific task, image editing, word processing, disc writing and so on. 

There are two types of hardware upgrades. One where the physical parts are changed, another where the software that controls the hardware and allows it to operate, called firmware, is updated. Firmware updates are often released for hardware to correct problems and improve performance. Camera makers often issue firmware updates to correct performance problems and occasionally to provide added or changed specifications. Some firmware is called driver software, or just 'drivers', and is the interface between the hardware and the particular computer operating system used, most O/s requiring differently configured drivers even for the same 'platform', i.e. Windows, Mac, or Linux etc.

Although software upgrades can in the main be considered easy to undertake, particularly in relation to the majority of applications used, in some cases the requirements they need to run in respect of hardware specifications mean that these need to be upgraded as well. This is often the case with the installation of a new version of a O/s for example.

So we'll take a look at the aspects concerning hardware upgrades in relation to improving performance, increasing flexibility, or providing extra storage space. Sometimes these can go hand in hand. As well as looking at the different options available we will try and point out some of the problems that can arise where these are important and affect the item being considered.

At the end we will discuss software upgrades in very brief and general terms because, whilst upgrading these can often be beneficial to the way the particular applications work and the ease with which they can be used, they don't as a rule bring any benefits as regards better computer performance in themselves.

What type of computer is suitable to upgrade?

When upgrading a computer is mentioned most peoples thoughts turn to desktop computers, for it is often thought that only these are suitable to upgrade. In the past that was true to a large extent, laptops being rare, expensive, and highly integrated, whilst desktops were common, cheaper, and a combination of individual parts, but today the situation is slightly different. Most present day desktops now follow the design of laptops, with many integrated parts, and the development of the USB2 specification and 'plug and play' capabilities have lead to a large increase in the use of laptops, which are quite common and cheap, alongside peripheral devices such as portable hard drives, USB2 sound cards etc. 

Today upgrading a computer to increase it's usefulness and speed of use is not a difficult task, and can be undertaken in many cases irrespective as to whether a desktop or laptop is involved. Indeed the generic term desktop is a bit outdated as it really refers to one particular form of computer using a horizontal case sitting on a desktop, with in most cases the monitor sat on top. This was of course how many first encountered computers, in an office environment. And this configuration remains one used mainly in such places. Today, besides laptops (another generic term now covering a wide range of types and sizes), there are a range of designs made, tower, midi and mini-tower, small form factor, cube, media centre etc, although the tower/small tower type currently remain the most commonly found amongst the ordinary user. (It is stated sales of laptops have now overtaken those of desktops which are in sharp decline).

The only problem that usually exists is the age of the computer involved. As standards are continually evolving and changing, finding compatible parts can sometimes become a problem, as standards become out of date and spare parts are no longer made to the older specification. Usually a changeover period exists during which time products to both the old and new standard are available. At the present time once such occurrence involves Hard Disk and Optical drives, the new SATA standard (Serial ATA) replacing PATA (Parallel ATA, also known as IDE ATA - Intelligent Drive Electronics). Another is the Express card slot that is replacing the PCMCIA slot in laptops. 

Which parts are suitable? And what's best?

Despite the level of component integration that now exists in many computers, the range of parts that it is possible to replace remains roughly the same depending on the particular configuration that exists. In desktops the drives, graphics, sound, memory, processors and motherboard are all suitable candidates. In laptops it's not so wide, drives and memory being the main areas. There is however a difference between what it is possible to replace/upgrade, and what it is feasible or economically worthwhile to do. For it is one thing to repair a computer so it remains in use, replacing a faulty component with one of equal or higher specification, and quite another to remove a part and replace it with an alternative with a higher specification simply to achieve better performance.

If you were to ask a selection of computer users which was the first part they thought needed upgrading, that which made the biggest performance hit increase, we are sure most would cite the processor. But this isn't actually so. The actual areas that determine overall computer performance revolve around the processor, the amount of memory (Ram - Random Access Memory), the size of the hard disk drive, it's spin speed, and the FSB. (The Front Side Bus is the interface between the processor and memory). But there are in reality only two upgrades that ultimately prove worthwhile, both on an economic level and performance wise. The first is increasing performance through the fitting of more Ram - which has a far bigger impact on performance than anything else - and the other is increasing hard drive space by replacing the hard drive or adding a second - which can also increase performance. Computer performance levels are as a rule limited by the speed at which data is accessed, not by the time taken to process it. It is only really when engaged on video editing or playing high definition video/games that a computer's processor and graphics card are pushed to the maximum that they can cope with and become the limiting factors.

Increasing Ram not only produces better overall computer performance, meaning applications and files open quicker and process tasks are undertaken are a far faster rate, tests have also shown that the more Ram a computer has the quicker it becomes to print images out using a printer. When an image is sent to print this is done solely through the actual amount of Ram available, virtual memory not being involved. For example a computer with 256mb Ram may take 20 minutes to send an image to print (the time taken to process the image information and send it to the printer, not the time it then takes the printer to produce it), yet the same machine when fitted with 1Gb Ram may complete the same task in 30 seconds. 

Replacing the hard drive with one with a larger capacity can increase overall performance if more space is available for virtual memory, (which is also referred to by some as the 'paging file' or the 'scratch disc'), an area of an hard disk reserved for and used in lieu of physical Ram. It can also be beneficial if the HDD spin speed is higher. The faster the spin speed and the higher capacity, the quicker information is accessed and sent back and forth to and from Ram, and thus available to the processor. We are dealing here with the main HDD, that which contains the primary 'C' partition on which the operating system resides. Adding a second HDD in a desktop, or using Firewire/USB2 portable HDD's will increase storage space but won't always improve performance unless it also frees up space on the 'C'. From a file security point of view, adding a second internal HDD to a computer where this is possible, either desktop types or those very large laptops that have twin HDD capacity, is beneficial in the sense that the 'main' HDD can be used solely for the 'C' partition, with the other holding all document files. This will also give a measure of added flexibility and performance if plenty of spare capacity results on the 'C' and a large chunk can be allocated as virtual memory. 

Replacing a processor is not usually economically viable because it often involves replacing the motherboard and memory as well, each new processor using a different socket connection configuration. The FSB figure, (measured in MHz and increasing all the time in line with processor and memory increases), varies according to the processor and the compatible motherboard into which it's designed to fit, and any memory used must match this. In 1999 the average FSB figure was 100MHz, today in 2008 it's 667MHz/800Mhz and will soon be 1GHz. Processor replacement on laptops is in most cases not possible whatever. Access is difficult if not impossible without a total strip down due to chassis design, and until recently processors on laptop motherboards were soldered into place not plugged. More to the point laptop processor heatsinks are specific to the motherboard design which is itself specific to the chassis of the laptop involved, laptop motherboards not conforming to a generic/modular design as most desktop types do, ATX, micro-ATX, BTX etc. Here is a ATX motherboard.

It has five PCI card slots. Four memory bank slots. And two IDE drive connections. There are no small e-sata drive connections as it is a pre-SATA board. Present day boards have just one IDE connection and as a rule four e-sata, as this is the new standard for all HDD's and optical drives.

ATX design desktop/tower computer motherboard

Replacing an optical drive is not often needed, but can also be worthwhile. If you have a computer that only has a CD-RW drive, replacing it with a newer DVD multi-rewriter drive can be a big benefit with regard to document file backup. An ordinary single layer 4.7G DVD being the equivalent of around 7 CD's and a 8.4Gb dual layer DVD 12. External USB2 DVD writer drives, like USB2/firewire HDD's are a good alternative if you don't want to open up a computer, but can be a bit of a drawback when laptops are used in different locations. Laptop optical drives are in the main just as easy to replace as in desktop computers, and sometimes easier. They are like desktop variants, of a basic modular design.

At the present time high capacity HD DVD, Blue Ray etc is just coming to the fore. Drives are slowly appearing but whilst the storage capacity of these discs is high, many times that of the standard DVD, so is the cost of the discs and the drives themselves. It will be some years before they are established and become viable alternatives on a cost per Gb storage basis.

Undertaking replacement

Getting access to the parts

Access to the inside of a tower case is a fairly easy task to accomplish, the side panels being removable and held in place either by a few screws or catches. As a general rule only the left side of the common vertical case needs removing to gain access to the major parts, motherboard memory slots, PCI card slots, and drives. Some designs have simple easily removable cages into which hard disks and optical drives fit, whilst others require both side panels removed to change drive cages held in place with screws. Here are two views inside different tower cases. The fans that can be seen are situated over the processor with the memory slots to the right of these. The optical and HD drive cages are to the extreme right with the cables leading to them. Optical drives are at the top with hard disks below. It is the cables, especially the IDE ribbon types that connect the drives, that can prove difficult to get hands around when making changes. Optical drives are 5.25" with HDD's being 3.5" (this is the width under which they are generally classified). Optical drives still mainly use the IDE specification, SATA types only just starting to appear.

The insides of ATX towers

Laptops are a different matter. Those that are well designed allow access to major parts that can be replaced such as HDD's, memory and sound cards, via removable panels on the underside. These usually come from the major makers such as HP, Compaq, Acer, Fujitsu, etc. Cheaper models generally use designs which are more difficult to access as they aren't really designed with repair or replacement of parts in mind, and discovering how they are assembled is the trick. Here are the undersides of two laptops illustrating the problem that can exist. On the left is that of a recent HP 14" widescreen laptop showing all the access panels provided. And on the right a small 12" widescreen screen notebook from Medion. Plenty of screws points holding the case together, but no access panels. In situations such as these removal of the keyboard often gives access as we will illustrate further on.

                                  HP 14" dual core laptop                                   Medion 12" notebook

Fitting memory

Increasing the amount of Ram fitted isn't particularly difficult, the actual job just being one of pushing the modules into place into the slots (they have a 'notched' design to ensure they are not fitted incorrectly), but getting the right type is essential, as is having a spare memory slot into which to fit it. Nearly all computer motherboards have two memory slots but it is often the case that both are occupied, the total memory fitted being comprised of more than one memory module. Some large motherboards - the ATX mainly - support four memory slots but today the O/s used can often be the limiting factor - see remarks further on.

Computer memory is sold in modules (sizes) similar to those of Digital Memory cards, the most common currently being 128mb/256mb/512mb and 1Gb, with an increase to 2Gb being the latest size now available. So 256mb of Ram may comprise 2 x 128mb modules, or 1Gb 2 x 512mb ones. As a consequence increasing memory capacity sometimes involves discarding what already exists, and is therefore not as cost effective as just adding another module of memory to what is there already. Despite this it remains the upgrade that produces the single biggest performance increase, and is still the most beneficial and cost effective on that basis.

Computer memory these days is as a rule SDRAM. (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory), and most is of the DDR (Double Data Rate) variety. Finding the type of memory fitted into a computer is not difficult using a benchmark application, (there are several around), such as SiSoftware Sandra  www.sisoftware.co.uk/sandra/  which can tell you a lot about a computer including what memory is fitted, the type and the banks (slots) occupied. Visiting a memory maker such as  www.crucial.com  and entering the details of the computer can also reveal what type of memory you need. Here is an example of what a memory module looks like.

computer memory module

Of course you need to ensure you are able to gain access to the memory slots before considering changing or adding more. As an example here is a shot of the underside of a HP dual core (AMD Turion 62 X2) laptop which has 1Gb of DDR2/667MHz memory fitted. 

1Gb Sodimm Laptop memory in two 512mb modules

This has been provided as two modules of 512mb, so although it's quite adequate when running Windows XP, increasing the Ram here to 1.5Gb/2Gb/4Gb for Windows Vista (we have an upgrade disc but have yet to decide whether it's worth the bother) would involve discarding at least one module to install any more. The memory used in laptops being known as Sodimm (small outline dimm - dimm stands for dual inline memory module). Although 1Gb sounds okay, and Vista only requires a minimum of 512mb Ram to operate (it won't install if it finds there is less than this amount), it is still far more than XP needs to run, the minimum of which is 128mb. To run anything more than the basic Vista version you really need at least 1Gb and preferably 2Gb. Most computers can currently accept and use up to 4Gb of memory. The amount is limited not only by the motherboard BIOS (basic in out system) but the O/s. The common Windows 32bit O/s (nearly all O/s have been 32 bit to date) can only address a maximum 4Gb of memory, (practical tests reveal only 3.2Gb is actually seen and can be used because of what are termed 'overheads'), whereas a 64bit O/s can use up 32Gb of memory. There are 64bit O/s now being introduced, but it will be many years before they become mainstream in use as they require 64bit drivers and applications and few are currently available or likely to be introduced anytime soon.

Generally if you have a computer with less than 1Gb of Ram, say either just 256mb or 512mb, increasing this is particularly worthwhile. The sensible maximum to fit for a standard 32bit O/s is really 3Gb since fitting more is really a waste because of the overhead loss. Fitting differing amounts in slots isn't a problem, they don't have to match, just be the same type. So 2Gb in one and 1Gb in another is fine. A machine with a 1Gb processor and 2/3Gb Ram will work faster than one with a 2Gb processor and just 512mb/1Gb Ram.

Fitting a new Hard Disk Drive

Replacing a hard drive is not really difficult. It just needs a bit of planning because it contains lots of information, with at least one partition with the operating system on it, and usually more these days when Windows O/s disks are no longer supplied as standard on computers with the O/s pre-installed - the way most computer users buy them. So there is often a 'recovery' partition. And if you are wise your documents will be located on a separate partition to the O/s, so if there is a catastrophic failure of the O/s, and you are forced into a re-install, your documents are safe and won't be lost. See   Storing Photo's  All of this needs transferring to the new HDD that is being installed.

A measure of pre-thought here can be useful, and avoids a lot of grief and extra work later in re-installing the O/s and all the programs and settings you use if either the O/s or the HDD itself fails at some stage. It is of course something you hope never happens, but if the drive fails and you have no image backup of the 'C' partition then you have no choice. (Surveys indicate that at least 30% of all laptop HDD's fail in the first three years of life). Making an image of the main drive 'C' partition is not difficult these days, there are many programs with which you can accomplish this, and making and keeping a copy of this on a separate HDD drive, or written to a series of DVD's is recommended. You should as a matter of course have the 'recovery' partition backed up onto disc/s, and it is foolish in the extreme not to keep your documents regularly backed up to another location, a second HDD or disc/s.

We use Acronis True Image for HDD disk imaging and image partition backup  www.acronis.com  and Norton Partition Magic 8  www.symantec.com  for general partitioning of HDD disks, creating, deleting, formatting, resizing etc. Both of these along with  www.paragon.com  produce a wide range of software applications to do with HDD management. The tools provided in Windows XP and now Vista, whilst more useful than they used to be, are still very limited in what can be undertaken with them, and the ease and speed with which it can be accomplished. 

All our laptops, we currently have three, have 'images' of their 'C' partitions backed up to a USB2 HDD for safety. This is in addition to the normal document backup also to portable HDD's. We currently have four high capacity portable HDD's, including a dual firewire/USB2 model, (firewire is the only sensible connection to use when video editing as it's still faster and more reliable than USB2). One is used for primary document storage, the others for document backup storage. We no longer use desktop type computers, laptops offering wider flexibility. At one time laptops were not quite up to the tasks of image and video editing, their HDD's were small and slow, as were their processors. This is no longer the case. 

Perhaps here we should just explain what an 'image' of a HDD partition is so as to make things clear. When you write files to a HDD, or an optical disc for that matter, they are written in a particular file format, which any software capable of reading them then can then decipher. Most operating system files can only be read by the operating system that installed them. Some can't be copied, not in the normal way. When you 'clone' a partition to produce an image of it, which is sometimes called taking a 'snapshot', everything is copied exactly as it is on the drive, and on drive which has the operating system on it this includes all the operating files irrespective of their attributes. It's rather like taking a picture, which is why the process is called imaging. The format of the information on the drive doesn't matter, because the image is just an exact replica of it as it stands.

Once you have made a decision over the course of action to take with the HDD you are removing and replacing, making an image of all the partitions on it or just those you need, or have decided to do a 'clean' install, re-installing the O/s and the programs used, the drive can be removed and replaced. In nearly all cases the replacement drive you fit must be the same type as that removed, IDE or SATA, as they use different cables and connections. As older motherboards can't support the new SATA standards it's no good buying one to replace a IDE drive. In the case of laptops the connections used are also different.

With most HDD's installation is just a matter of reversing the procedure used for removal. With a normal 3.5" desktop IDE PATA HDD there is a power cable from the PSU (power supply unit) and a wide ribbon cable from the motherboard. They just need pulling off the old drive and fitting on the new after it is in place. Again getting access in the first place to remove and replace it is the main problem. If there is more than one HDD fitted in the processor case, two say, then the ribbon cable is attached to both in what is known as a 'master' and 'slave' configuration. This also applies if two optical drives are fitted, (it used to be quite common but is rare now). As a general 'rule', HDD's and optical drives should not be connected together in this manner, but use separate IDE motherboard connections. Otherwise performance of both drives suffers.

All you really need to do is make sure that the cable fits on the replacement drive in the same way it did on the old, and that the 'jumper' settings, that which determine whether the drive is master or slave, are set correctly. Instructions for this are normally supplied with the HDD when purchased. SATA drives are easier to install in that they use smaller cabling to connect to the motherboard and do not share cables between drives, each drive having it's own bandwidth, with no master and slave arrangement. This also applies to optical drives.

Laptop HDD's are arranged slightly differently to those of desktops and mostly just plug into place, the connection carrying both data and power, and are easy to remove and replace once you can get at them. This applies whether a PATA or SATA drive is used. As well as being smaller at 2.5", they generally spin at slower speeds, this combination requiring less power consumption, an important factor in laptop design. At one time they were also considerably smaller in capacity, but today with the advances in HDD technology that have taken place in recent years they can have the same capacity and spin speed as the average desktop HDD. The latest SATA 2.5" drives being available in sizes up to 250Gb. Not quite as big a capacity compared to some fitted in desktops, but still massive in size in comparison to what has gone before.

Here is another shot of the HP showing just how easy it is to replace the HDD, two screws and the access hatch comes off. Remove the four screws holding it in place and it can just be pulled upwards and out. As this is a fairly new laptop the HDD is a SATA type with a spin speed of 5,400rpm and a capacity of 120Gb. This also shows where the hatch to the memory modules are. 

 access bays on underside of HP AMD dual core laptop

These are shots of two old drives side by side, 3.5" and 2.5" IDE types, showing the difference in size. The 3.5" (Fujitsu) was removed from an obsolete desktop and has a capacity of just 13Gb and a spin speed of 5,400rpm. It was produced in 1999. The 2.5" from 2002 (Hitachi) was removed from a laptop and replaced because it was giving trouble and beginning to fail, causing computer problems and errors. It is of 30Gb capacity and 4,200rpm and was replaced by one of 100Gb and 5,400rpm. The second shot shows the drive casings removed and the size of the actual disks used, known as 'platters'. Most HDD's have more than one, these both have two. Those of the 3.5" being in an alloy, whilst those of the much later 2.5" being in glass substrate, which is why dropping or handling HDD's roughly can often be fatal.

We said that sometimes access to a laptops interior is through the keyboard and this was the case with the 2.5" drive above that was replaced. This was originally fitted into another laptop we have, a 2003 15" screen model from Medion. Having just purchased a replacement battery for it when the HDD started to give problems, replacing it with a new higher capacity one seemed a good idea. A spare computer, or one that can be put to use with tasks where it is just left alone to get on with the job in hand, is always worthwhile and more preferable to just discarding it. In this particular case it is mainly used for copying analogue music on vinyl record and cassette tape to disc (which has to be done in real time - the tracks can't just be 'ripped' as digital can) and doing the same with VHS tapes (transcoding the AVI file from a captured VHS tape to Mepg2 can take many hours).

The shot (left) shows the keyboard unscrewed and removed (it's still connected by the ribbon tape so it's just folded over) and the space underneath where the HDD resides, it being enclosed in a metal shield screwed into place, which can just be seen to the upper left of the shot. Access to the keyboard retaining screws was by inserting a screwdriver to prise off the body strip seen at the top rear (right shot) which contains the power and shortcut buttons and the speaker grills.

 

               Medion 15" laptop with keyboard removed for access to HDD, and in normal operating state

If you are careful internal HDD's, models needing an enclosure of some kind along with a power supply, need not be expensive. (You can buy enclosures quite cheaply into which you can fit internal 3.5" and 2.5" IDE drives turning them into portable USB2 drives, which is all that 'proper' commercial portable HDD drives are anyway). The 2.5" IDE UDMA100 model we bought was made by Fujitsu, (100Gb/5,400rpm), and this cost just £45 from  www.dabs.com  including p&p, which made replacement both economical and worthwhile. But it is advisable to shop around. We were quoted prices of more than this just for a replacement HDD of the same capacity and spin speed as that we were replacing, and much more, £139 to be precise, for a larger one - 80Gb - from a well known high street/out of town superstore computer retailer.

There are applications around that can monitor any HDD that a computer you have uses, internal or external, and report on it's condition. Advising you when problems occur that indicate it may be giving cause for concern. The only pre-condition is that the HDD is a 'SMART' enabled type which most are these days. As the saying goes pre-warned is pre-armed, and if you know that a HDD is suspect you can deal with the situation, replacing it if required, before it fails totally and unexpectedly causing untold problems. We use Hard Disk Sentinel which is currently the best we have come across. It is available from  www.hdsentinel.com  and just sits in the taskbar giving indication.

Adding a Hard Drive

Adding another HDD to an existing setup is relatively simple by comparison to replacing one, and is mainly concerned with having the space into which to place it, a vacant slot in the computer case, along with the leads and connecters with which is will be hooked up to the rest of the system. Whether you using a SATA or IDE drive they will need both power leads from the PSU along with connections to the motherboard for data transfer, so spare connections must exist on the motherboard for this. Power leads from the PSU to an existing HDD can usually be split using easily obtained auxiliary leads and connecters, it's only necessary to check that the PSU can provide enough juice in that it has the spare capacity. Most do, but it's best to be certain, or it could overheat and damage the computer if overloaded.

As SATA drives use individual small section leads for motherboard connection adding one is easier than an IDE, which usually needs adding to an existing IDE drive connection ribbon. Some computers come with IDE drives using just a single drive ribbon which must be replaced with a dual drive ribbon, again easily obtained, whilst many come already equipped.

Many internal HDD drives are supplied with all the documentation you need as regards instructions as to installation in a computer case. Some include extra power leads and connection ribbons. Others have nothing at all. Much depends on whether they were originally made for OEM use by those who assemble computers, or were produced for retail sale. Both types often end up on general sale, with OEM being cheaper because of their basic nature. They all work the same.

Software upgrades

Software upgrades are easy to install by comparison to hardware, but do rely to an extent, as we mentioned at the start, on the hardware installed, the spare capacity available, and especially the operating system used. While the hardware used by computers is pretty much standardized these days, and generally all the different operating systems can be used with it, this often doesn't apply to specialist items of either hardware or software which are often only written for one 'platform', a particular O/s, which generally turns out to be Windows.

Much general software is also only available for Windows, whilst the latest software versions are often found only to be compatible with the latest O/s. With others it is immaterial, they consume little in the way of HDD space, use small amounts of Ram, and are produced in versions for all the popular O/s, Windows, Mac and Linux. However, continually upgrading software to the latest versions isn't always needed, and certainly doesn't as a rule bring by comparison the large benefits that upgrading hardware does as regards performance increases. 

Operating System

One of the first upgrades that often comes to mind is installing the latest operating system. The newer the O/s the more capabilities it usually has as regards hardware variations supported. Extra features will be normally be gained, but this often comes at a substantial price. And that is in respect of the hardware needed for  it to run correctly in the first place. The higher the level of Ram required and the amount of hard disk space consumed. Today installing the latest operating system doesn't necessarily bring the benefits it did in the past. And Windows Vista is a prime example of this. It requires more hardware capacity than Windows XP, but runs slower, being a larger installation, with more background services running all the time. A new O/s rarely if ever these days brings a performance increase that is beneficial to camera users.

Another prime consideration is backwards compatibility. A new O/s almost invariably requires new and different drivers for the hardware and software than that currently used. If these aren't available then that item will no longer work with the computer. This might be printers, scanners, cameras, routers, wi-fi etc. Awkward if connecting a camera to the computer is the only method of downloading images. Again this has become a particular problem with Windows Vista, with a marked absence of suitable drivers for a wide range of popular items. It has resulted in many firms and individuals rejecting any thought of upgrading to Vista because of the huge problems that this is causing to those who have tried upgrading, and continuing to use XP instead. Support for XP is set to continue for a some years. Normal updates until 2014, and critical security updates to 2019.

As a general rule these days sticking with the operating system installed at the start is usually the best option. It will be compatible with all the hardware installed as first constructed, and even if it's now an older O/s new hardware is mostly backwards compatible, unlike a newer O/s, with suitable drivers normally being supplied. 

Application software

Software to carry out all the tasks we wish to undertake with a computer is available in vast quantities these days, especially for Windows based machines. Continually upgrading that which you have to the latest version however is rather like upgrading the O/s. It can be costly, and the benefits that accrue often don't repay the outlay. 

Much depends on the particular software used and the latest version. Some new versions bring features and ways of working that are beneficial and welcome, whilst others just end up increasing the amount of HDD space consumed for no apparent reason or advantage. Very little in the way of upgraded software brings a performance increase these days, unless a re-designed interface enables simpler and quicker working, and if you read reviews in computer magazines you will often find that the reverse is the case, that some perform worse. 

This is apparently the case with quite a lot of recent introductions, particularly in the utility software sector, security and computer management, where the latest versions of software formerly regarded as the best are now unreliable and crash when called upon to do what they should, while older versions perform impeccably. We recently tried new versions of several applications we run on our computers. All offered new features yet didn't prove to be any better than that we already had.

The basic lesson seems to be that if you have software that does all that you need, and there are no problems that arise with it in use, then upgrading it will probably end up being of little benefit.